A Legend's Journey
by BlackMetagross
Summary: 5 years ago, Ash Ketchum vanished. Trying to find him was futile, he made sure of that. Now, in the present day, he returns. Stronger than before, stronger than anyone out there, he returns for one person. The one person he couldn't bear to live without. NEGAISHIPPING. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Stop asking...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone, first off if you are reading this, then thanks for taking the time to read my story. This is my first story, and the first thing I've ever really written seriously. Please, leave your most honest opinions and thoughts in the review section, I look forward to reading them._

_-BM_

"Haxorus, use Outrage!"

"GARCHOMP, COUNTER WITH OUTRAGE!" Cynthia screamed. She was in trouble now, the Champion knew that this opponent was something special, the way her Pokémon obeyed her every command without question and the power of her Pokémon itself, this Haxorus, proved that she had trained extremely hard for this. She wanted this.

"Hax, Haax, HAAX-OORUS!" The green and black Dragon type let loose a glowing blue dragon of energy, straight at the opposing Garchomp, who was flying towards Haxorus with dangerous speed.

The two beasts collided, producing a deafening boom and producing a plume of smoke and dust that shrouded the arena. Cynthia was blinded by the smoke. She couldn't hear any Pokémon, only the coughing of the challenger.

"Gaaar..." moaned the shark-like titan, as it wobbled at the knees and collapsed to the floor.

The referee let out a gasp. "G-Garchomp is unable to battle. Therefore, Cynthia is out of usable Pokémon! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DRAGON MASTER AND OUR NEW CHAMPION OF UNOVA, IRIS OF THE DRAGON VILLAGE!"

"Yes! Yes! I did it! I can't believe I di-OOOF!" Iris didn't have time to finish her sentence before she was tackled to the floor by an equally happy Haxorus.

"Hax Haxorus!" roared her partner.

"Haha sorry Haxorus, of course I mean we did it together!" She laughed as Haxorus pulled her into a hug jumping up and down.

They were interrupted by Cynthia approaching them, a smile on the face of the blonde long-haired beauty. "That was truly an exceptional battle Iris, one of the strongest Trainer to ever face me, I am proud to relinquish my title of Champion to you. Now, please accompany me to the Hall of Fame for your induction."

Iris nodded, "Haxorus return." The Dragon type was sucked back into its Pokeball and Iris followed Cynthia through two automated doors and the back arena.

Iris couldn't help but let out a gasp of admiration as she walked into the Hall of Fame. A huge chamber with black marble tiles on every surface, she could even see her own reflection from across the room!

Cynthia let out a small laugh, "Impressive isn't it? Every new Champion has always had the same reaction for me, even when I was Champion of Sinnoh."

Cynthia led Iris to a large gilded computer screen at the back of the room. The monitor displayed the message "Please Insert Trainer Details" on the screen. Iris got out her Trainer card to allow Cynthia to enter her details and register her as Champion of Unova. Cynthia hit the return key and the monitor flashed, "Registration Complete, Congratulations Champion Iris."

The monitor returned to a menu screen, and immediately Iris noticed an option called 'Archives', "Hey! What's that option for?" she said with intrigue.

"Oh that? That's just a record of every Champion we've had in Unova for as long as records can tell us. Here take a look." Cynthia moved down to archives and hit the return key again, displaying a list of some recent names.

"Steven, Alder, Cynthia, Red...and then... Cynthia again?" Iris turned to the former Champion with a look of the strongest confusion on her face. "Cynthia, what's going on with that? Who is Red...?"

Cynthia looked at the younger Champion, heck, Iris was only in her teens. She had been beaten by a teenager. Cynthia shook her head.

**A/N** (This next part is a flashback as you will soon realise, what do you think of the bold italics for flashback sections? Is it too hard to read, annoying, tacky etc?)

**_It was around 3 years ago. Cynthia had a new challenger to her title of Champion. She was nervous, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She had reason to be. She had read all about this challenger. He was well-known at this stage. The news couldn't get enough of this "mystery Trainer" who had challenged the Indigo League._**

**_ Dressed in black combats, dirty white trainers and a red hooded cloak buttoned at his neck, the hood hiding his face, he had stepped up to the reception desk carrying only 3 Pokeballs._**

**_"I want to challenge the League, please." said the stranger in a dull voice._**

**_"Uh, certainly sir, I'll just need your Trainer Ca-oh! T-thanks." The stranger had slapped a battered looking Trainer Card on the desk causing the receptionist to jump slightly. "Oookay Mr. Red? If you just follow me I'll give you a quick briefing on how the League works."_**

**_"I know how it works." said the stranger, and with that he turned and walked towards the large double doors at the back. He stopped. The receptionist couldn't help but stare at the unusual Trainer, most of the time when Trainers came to the League they would be nervous, but this guy didn't seem nervous at all, in fact, he looked almost confident?_**

**_Cynthia remembered the news report an hour later, a Trainer, who had not even revealed his face during his battles, had breezed the Kanto Elite Four using only a Metagross who had displayed sheer dominance throughout._**

**_His next battle had been against Lance, the reigning Kanto champion. Lance had faced many tough opponents before, but this trainer was like nothing else. Lance was down to his last Pokémon, the previous 5, including his Gyarados, had been at the mercy of this Metagross, which didn't even seem to flinch at being faced with Lance's last and strongest, Dragonite._**

**_"Dragonite, go!" Lance tossed his Pokeball and the blinding blue and white like of Dragonite appeared. The skin coloured dragon took form and landed with a thud on the arena._**

**_"Drago, Dragonite!" growled the dragon, its eyes narrowing as it locked on to the opposing metal giant._**

**_"Okay, Dragonite, finish it with one hit, Draco Meteor!" Dragonite glowed yellow as energy started building up in its body, gradually growing right up to its mouth. _**

**_"DRAAAAGOOONITE!" roared the Dragon-type as it released the energy into the air forming large meteors preparing to come crashing down on Metagross._**

**_"Metagross quick, combine Meteor Mash with Agility before it hits!" Red commanded. _**

**_Metagross glowed pink while at the same time raising a glowing purple leg. The Psychic/Steel type sank to the ground and sprang up into the air, impressive for such a colossal Pokémon, completely evading the Draco Meteor launched at it._**

**_Dragonite didn't realise what had happened until the smoke cleared and Metagross was nowhere to seen. "Dragonite, MOVE!" roared Lance. Too late. Metagross plummeted straight down into Dragonite, completely stunning the dragon with Meteor Mash._**

**_"Drag...?" A dazzled cry was all Dragonite could manage before slumping to its knees and collapsing onto the floor of the arena. Metagross landed in front of the defeated opponent and stalked back towards Red, disappearing in a red blur as its Trainer recalled it._**

**_"Dragonite is unable to battle! Lance is out of useable Pokémon, therefore we HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR NEW KANTO CHAMPION, RED!"_**

**_Lance went to step forward and shake the victors hand, but before he had taken more than two steps a blinding blue and white light took the form of a Salamence. Salamence blasted the roof of the arena with Dragonbreath as Red climbed up onto his back and dug his heels in. Lance looked on in shock and confusion as the two rose into the air and flew through the newly-formed hole in the roof. Red was gone, he had won, he was Champion... and he had left the building, without even being registered._**

_Well, this is the end of Chapter 1. If you are reading this congrats, you managed to reach the end alive and well. As I said before, this is my first attempt at writing fiction, so please, take the time to REVIEW and feel free to berate me on my shortcomings as an author :)_

_CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON._


	2. Chapter 2

_Well hi again everyone, if you're reading this then yes, I finally decided to upload Chapter 2 of A Legend's Journey._

_I wasn't confident about the first chapter, but I have to say I'm overwhelmed with the support and reception I received. So, if you favourited/followed the story or me, the author, or even just took the time to review it; thank you so much._

_Well I won't keep you waiting any longer, enjoy Chapter 2 (if you can)_

"At the time Lance was considered the strongest Trainer in the world, let alone the strongest Dragon Master. People just couldn't comprehend how he had been defeated so easily by an unknown Trainer. It's not completely unknown though, there have been extremely powerful Trainers before that have preferred to live outside the limelight, Professor Oak of Kanto is a prime example."

"Wow... and they never saw him again? Did he beat you the same way?" Iris asked in amazement. She couldn't believe a Trainer could be THAT strong, and she had met some pretty strong Trainers in her adventures!

"Oh they saw him alright. He turned up in Johto 3 months later and did the same thing to Clair in the Johto League, then to Steven in Hoenn, to me in Sinnoh and then to Alder here in Unova. That was 3 years ago now." The beauty turned to look at Iris and smiled at the look of pure shock and disbelief on the purple-haired teen's face. She knew what question was coming next, and answered before it was asked. "Yes, he left in the same style after beating each of the Champions. It was decided that his refusal to be registered as a new Champion meant that he had technically forfeited the title, and that the best course of action would be to reinstate the previous Champion."

"Wow, how strange... hmph! That's something a little kid would do!" Iris said in a matter-of-fact tone as she folded her arms. "So Cynthia, um, now that I'm Champion and all, what exactly do I uh... do?" It was funny, Iris had always been occupied with fulfilling her dream of becoming a powerful Dragon Master, and now that she was Unova Champion at the age of 15 she was arguably already there, but she had never thought about what she would do after that.

"Well Iris, you are Champion now. You will be afforded your own recreation centre here at the Pokémon League where you can train, swim, chill out and whatever else you want to fill your time with. Apart from that though Iris, you can pretty much do what you want! As for me Iris, it's about time for me to get going, you would be surprised at how much not being Champion frees up your schedule!"

And with that the former Champion walked back out of the Hall of Fame and waved goodbye to Iris, before going her separate way through the exit. Iris wouldn't see her again for a good while.

Iris too left the Hall of Fame and walked towards to sliding doors at the side of the arena. One was metallic black and the other a brilliant white, they slid apart when Iris approached to reveal a large carpeted room, complete with sofas, tables, magazines and the biggest flat-screen TV Iris had ever seen!

"Wow..." The young Champion's mouth formed an o-shape as she looked around the centre, which was complete with a gym for training, a swimming pool complete with a waterfall and extra deep section for diving practice, as well a large kitchen area stocked with fresh ingredients and a bedroom fitted out with a walk-in wardrobe and four-poster bed.

Iris stood in front of the mirror. She still wore the same white and pink outfit she had for years, she had never seen any reason to change it because it made her happy, and she had never really cared what people thought of her anyway. Axew evolving into his larger forms had allowed her to have a bit more creative freedom with her hair. She was still sporting a large pigtail of hair down her back, with a yellow hair tie at the end, although the pigtail was thinner than before. On top of her head she had four locks of her beautiful purple hair held together with a single yellow band, which swayed as she moved. She had let her fringe grow out a bit more and the two triangles of hair now reached down just slightly past her eyebrows. At the far corners of her fringe she had two strands of her hair looping down along the side of her face and tucked into her pigtail at the back. Sure, her new hair took more time to get right than before, if that was even possible, but she thought it made her look more mature or, in Iris's case, less like a little kid.

"Oh! I better go and see Cilan and fill him in!" Iris had almost forgot about her Connoisseur friend, they had travelled together with Ash five years ago in Unova, following Ash's quest to become a Pokémon Master and also Iris's quest to become a Dragon Master.

The purple-haired teen often thought about her raven-haired friend. Ash had become one of her closest and only friends, even if he was such a little kid, during the time they spent travelling together. Ash's relentless optimism whether he won or lost was so appealing to Iris and was one of the reasons she had become such good friends with him, not to mention the fact that Ash had helped her to become a better Trainer herself at a time when she was unsure about her quest to be a Dragon Master, heck, she had even beaten him at one point! That wasn't the real reason Iris was so attached to the big goofball though, over the time they spent together in Unova Iris had became more and more attracted to Ash. When Iris had told Ash about how before they met she had never really had any friends, and how nobody wanted to be her friend at the Opelucid Academy Ash couldn't understand how anybody couldn't like her! _"Wow Iris, how could nobody be friends with you? I think you're great!" _was what he had said to her that night. Iris thought about how he had started blushing furiously after saying it, and ever since then she had thought that maybe Ash felt the same way about her...? She doubted it, she always doubted herself when it came to love, who could ever love a weirdo like her? What made it worse for her was Ash's disappearance.

**_It was the morning they were due to set sail for Kanto. Ash had decided to hang back a little and pick up a few souvenirs for his mother because, in typical Ash fashion, he had forgotten until the last minute. "Oh Ash, you're such a little kid!" She had said to him. The plan was that Ash would meet her and Cilan down at the port in 30 minutes. He turned and sprinted off towards the market, as she stood and watched him disappear into the crowds. At that moment in time, Iris had no idea that that would be the last time she would see her raven-haired friend for a long while. An hour later she was standing on the main deck watching their cruiseliner depart from Unova, she and Cilan had decided that Ash probably forgot about his arrangement and got on the cruiseliner without them. The two teens spent the next hour searching the ship top to bottom for their friend, but found no trace of him. The ships manager had no record of him boarding, and when the two finally arrived in Kanto, sick with worry, Delia Ketchum and Professor Oak were just as surprised at his absence. They tried calling everyone to try and locate him, Prof. Juniper hadn't seen him, nor any of his friends, not even Brock. It seemed unlikely that Ash could have made his way to another region, let alone tie his own shoelaces, on his own but nonetheless a search mission was issued. After four months of region wide searching including brief spells in Hoenn, Johto and Sinnoh, Ash Ketchum was declared still officially missing, with no leads._**

**_It hit everyone extremely hard. Ash, Delia's son, close friends to so many people, especially Brock and Misty, was now no longer around, the worst part being nobody actually knew what had happened. Nobody knew if he had been kidnapped, whether he had left of his own accord, or if he was even still alive._**

**_Iris felt like her heart had been ripped out and stamped on. She had finally started to become close to someone, a boy... a boy that seemed to care about her just as much as she did him. Well, maybe that was an overstatement, in recent weeks Iris knew that she was deeply in love with her raven-haired friend. She had cursed herself for falling in love with such a little kid, but those eyes... those big amber orbs that made her heart skip a beat every time she made eye contact with him. More than anything though, she had felt secure around him, like he would never leave her, not like all the other kids had. Ash was, well, he was her first real friend._**

**_What was more was that Iris had started to develop the impression that her love for Ash wasn't just one-way. Ash had let things slip more than once, just little things though, nothing massive. She thought back to a night when the trio were camping just outside Nimbasa City, when Iris had been toying with her hair all day, trying to come up with a new way to wear it. Ash and Cilan were sitting at a table enjoying their supper when Iris approached, scissors in hand, and asked if they thought she should get rid of her fringe._**

**_ "NO IRIS YOUR FRINGE IS PERFE-"Ash had blurted out, spitting half chewed toast everywhere. Iris had just stared at him, he had stood up. He was standing there, with his hands over his mouth and Iris was pretty sure she could see his cheeks turn the same shade of red hers were right now, even in the dim light of the evening._**

**_After a few seconds of awkward silence, Cilan laughed. "Well, that certainly seems to have left a savoury aftertaste with both of you. I believe you have your answer, Iris, thanks to an interesting injection of flavour from Ash." _**

**_"Eh, thanks guys...I guess I'll go to bed now then..." she had said. She scaled the tree she had picked to sleep in that night, not too many leaves, it was warm out that night. Climbing into her sleeping bag beside Axew, she lay for hours pondering what had happened during supper. Ash thought her fringe was perfect? She felt warm inside when she replayed it over in her head._**

**_She looked over the edge of her branch bed, there was Ash lying in his usual spot, at the bottom of whatever tree Iris was sleeping in, almost like a protector. She blushed at this, but something was different, Ash wasn't snoring as he usually did, it was silent._**

**_"Ash? Are you okay down there?" she questioned. Her question was met with rustling, and for a moment she thought she saw two amber orbs flash her a look before they were replaced with darkness again and she heard the familiar light snoring she was used to. _**

Iris snapped back into reality, where she was still standing in front of the mirror. Something was different though. Iris looked at her reflection, or rather, the tears that had formed in her eyes and how they were slowly rolling down her cheeks and falling onto the floor below.

She wiped her eyes, now was not the time for being a little kid. Why was she getting so upset over a little kid anyway...? '**_Because you love him' _**said a voice inside her head. She did love him...

She walked back through the League entrance and taking a Pokeball out of her belt she released Dragonite.

"Dragonite, come on out!" and in a flash of white light the skin-coloured dragon appeared. "I need you to take me to Striaton City to see Cilan, quickly before the Striaton Cafe closes!" With that the dragon bent down allowing his master to climb onto his back. When she was seated safely he kicked off with a powerful thrust and took off towards Striaton.

_So, that's Chapter 2 finished with. What did you think?_

_Personally I didn't like this Chapter as much, I found it much harder to write and hopefully it isn't too bad._

_AGAIN, please leave reviews no matter how brief. If you are going to review, please try to be as brutally honest as possible, it helps to receive criticism, obviously..._

**_Sorry, this isn't a chapter update, just a little note to say that Chapter 3 might be a bit delayed, busy with life etc etc. but it won't be months at a time so you won't have to wait that long really._**


	3. Chapter 3

_Well thank God it's finally here, Chapter 3 of this nonsense. I really didn't expect writing to be this challenging or time consuming, or maybe I just have the imagination of a brick._

_As always, thank you for waiting patiently and please, enjoy._

"Therefore, Cynthia is out of usable Pokémon! WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DRAGON MASTER AND OUR NEW CHAMPION OF UNOVA, IRIS OF-"click! The TV flicked off and the log cabin fell silent once more. A tall, broad figure rose and began walking towards a window.

**_'Champion of Unova...Iris?' _**said the voice in his head. **_'To think that when I left her she was nothing more than a fledgling Trainer, and now... now she is the strongest in Unova?_**

Well, she wasn't the only one who had gotten stronger. Since entering his self-imposed exile 5 years ago, he had retreated to the peaks of Mt. Silver, an ideal place to cut off distractions and hone his battling skills to make him the most formidable Trainer known. He had succeeded somewhat, during this time, he had built a team of the most versatile and powerful Pokémon out there, short of catching every Legendary.

He knew it was time. He had been looking for the excuse to return for almost a year now. He had seen it all, done it all, and now here was his chance; presented on a silver platter.

This time was different though, this time it was personal. The Unova Champion was Iris. Could he do it? Could he beat her despite his feelings? He despaired, what is Iris hated him for leaving? The thought of it made his stomach sink; he didn't think he could bear being resented by his violet Queen.

His mind was made up, a few days to get things together and prepare, and he would return and this time; it would be permanent.

_ Later that day – Striaton City Cafe_

"Oh Cilan it's sooo good to see you again!" Iris embraced Cilan in a bear hug, squeezing the air out of the much larger boy.

"It's great... to see...you**_*ack!*_**again too Iris...phew," replied the green-haired Connoisseur, "I'm incredibly proud of you Iris, I always had the feeling you would succeed. After all, I am a talent Connoisseur."

Iris and Cilan sat down in a booth in the corner of the cafe. News hadn't spread quickly enough, so Iris was allowed some peace and quiet instead of being bombarded by the media about her win over Cynthia.

"Oh it's just great Cilan; they have a swimming pool, a gym, a lounge and everything! You gotta come check it out sometime!" Cilan sat listening to every word before replying.

"That does sound wonderful Iris, but it would be rude to just run off and leave Chili and Cress here on their own, it is one of the busiest times of the year after all." Cilan explained, much to Iris' disappointment. She wasn't going to give up that easily though, she had an ace up her sleeve.

Iris stood up and stretched, pretending to yawn.

"Yeah Cilan I guess that's okay. Well, I sure am tired, better head back to the League for tonight. I'll just have to make dinner myself, I should be able to cope in that..._massive..._kitchen alone anyway. Sooo, bye!"

The chocolate skinned girl flew out the door, her ponytail in tow, and stood outside calmly...waiting.

Cilan was still sitting in the booth, **_'What did she say? Massive kitchen? Oh goodness, a kitchen to myself! The peace! The quiet!'_** Cilan stood up and began walking towards the kitchen, taking note of how many people were in the Cafe, it was after the lunch rush so there weren't that many people in the place.

"Hey guys. Sure is quiet out there at the minute, huh?" Cilan tried his best at small talk with his two brothers.

Chili spoke up, "Sure is Cilan, but don't forget we have a full house tonight as far as dinner reservations go!"

Cilan frowned, '**_Darn, I forgot about dinner. Oh well, it's worth a try.'_** "Actually, I was wondering if you and Cress would be alright without me for a few days...?" Cilan flinched as he said it, preparing himself for the barrage of bickering and pan flinging that would break out whenever the three couldn't see eye to eye.

No kitchenware hit him or the wall behind where he was standing. He opened his eyes to see his two brothers looking at him strangely.

"Are you okay there Cilan?" Cress asked amusedly.

"I wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no..." He replied.

"Cilan, we managed for months without you while you were off gallivanting around Unova." Chili said in the most sarcastic tone he could muster, all the while keeping the friendliest smile on his face.

Cilan knew that comment was meant to rile him up, but being a top-class Connoisseur he knew exactly how to deal with it. "Oh well then, that's splendid thanks you guys! I just wasn't sure about leaving again Chili, you know, after you complained last time about Cress slacking all the time."

Cilan swiftly left the kitchen, and on his way out the door he could have sworn he heard raised voices and the sound of utensils being launched across the kitchen.

Iris and Dragonite were already sitting on the steps outside waiting on their green-haired friend. "That sure didn't take very long," Iris remarked looking quite pleased with herself, "if it's okay with you Cilan we're gonna fly with Dragonite here, it might be cold but hey the journey is much quicker than the train!"

The Connoisseur could think of a million ways he would rather make the journey to the Unova League than on the back of a temperamental dragon, but, being a gentleman, he agreed.

For Iris the 3 or 4 days after that were spent lounging around, training, swimming or being cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner by a top class Connoisseur.

"It sure is great being Champion and all Cilan, but something is missing. I miss searching forests to find the nicest apples or having tree running contests. I miss Ash..." Iris huffed as she sat at the kitchen table.

"I know you miss him Iris, we all do. The harsh reality is that he is gone, and it looks unlikely that he will ever be ba-" Cilan was cut short as Iris' Poke Gear began to ring; she looked at the Caller ID. **_'Reception?' _** She said aloud. **_'What could they want?' _**Iris answered the call and put the phone up to her ear.

"H-Hello? Miss Iris?"

**'Miss Iris'** she really hated being called that.

"Hi uhh, is there some kind of problem?" She asked concerned as the receptionist's tone.

"Oh no no! No problem! Well uh-maybe, kinda, I'm not really sure. It's just we have a Trainer here saying he wants to challenge you, just you, not the League..." The receptionist's tone was shaky, indicating that she wasn't used to such a bizarre situation.

"Wow a-a challenger already!? A-and he wants to challenge just me, can he- can he do that?" Iris was shocked; she hadn't been expecting to be challenged so early! It wasn't a League challenge either; someone had singled her out for a battle...

"Well technically he can, it won't mean anything but yes, you can uh, you can battle him. It's just one thing though Miss Iris it's em, well, i-it's him." The receptionist whispered the last part, causing Iris to think she had misheard.

"What did you say? It's him? Who is 'him'!?" She demanded, whispering herself, although she didn't know why.

"It's him. That Trainer. The one that beat Lance. It's Red."

Iris' phone hit the floor.

_DUN DUN DUN! What a cliffhanger. Better than Breaking Bad. 10/10._

_Haha, seriously though, this was a real pain to write. I got half way through the first draft and just deleted it all. Then I basically had to go into Notepad and just type out point by point what was going to happen in this story before I could face writing Chapter 3 again._

_Sorry if this Chapter sucked._

_As always, please continue to read and review or drop me a PM, it means a lot. **P.S. If you haven't reviewed already, please do. It halps meh.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_Well hello folks. I'm back again with Chapter 4 this time (...obviously...) which is of course the PENULTIMATE CHAPTER._

_Now usually I'm a bit negative about writing the chapters for this story but I have to say I really enjoyed this one._

_It's also occurred to me that I never bothered to include the ages of the characters in this story. Sorry. Ash and Iris are both 16 whereas Cilan is 19._

_Thanks for continued support in the reviews, especially from repeated reviewers WhiteEagle1995, Toadettegirl2012, HedgehogRunner and Coli Chibi. If I left you out of that list I did it by accident, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll fix it in the next A/N :)_

_Now, on with the show._

* * *

"This will be a three on three battle. The winner will be decided by whatever party have no Pokémon left capable of battling. The Champion, Iris, will be the first to select a Pokémon, and only the challenger can make substitutions." Cilan announced. The green-haired connoisseur had elected to be the referee for this battle.

Iris nodded and looked at Red. He was just standing there, his face still hidden by his hood. He didn't say anything, just continued to look right at her.

Iris brushed it off as him trying to intimidate her, and it was working. "Okay thanks Cilan, so, are you ready challenger?"

Red didn't answer, preferring to simply withdraw a Pokeball from his belt, signalling that he was ready to battle.

"Okay, Dragonite, let's do this!" Iris threw her Pokeball into the air releasing Dragonite. The orange dragon landed on the stadium floor with a thud, anger apparent in its eyes.

"Metagross let's finish it quickly." Red pressed the button on the Pokeball and in a flash of light the blue monster appeared. It glared at Dragonite, a ferocious look in its eyes.

"Metagross, start off with Agility." Red commanded. Metagross glowed pink and the ferocious look left its eyes, replaced by a calm expression.

"Dragonite, I have a plan! Get up close and use Dragon Claw!" Iris instructed. Dragonite obliged, and began flying at Metagross as it claws began to glow blue. Dragonite got within hands reach of Metagross and was about to strike, when at the last second the robot sidestepped the attack.

Dragonite's eyes widened, it realised it was going too fast to stop now. It tried in vain to slow itself down as it went crashing into the wall of the arena. Stumbling back from the wall it gave a confused groan and fell back, knocked out.

* * *

"WHAAT!? H-how did it... H-how can it move that quickly? It's massive!" Iris said in shock, recalling Dragonite.

Red chuckled. "Light Metal, the ability. It greatly reduces the weight of Metagross and that, combined with Agility, mean that only severely fast Pokémon can keep up with it. I expected you to know that Iris."

Cilan was beaming. "That's genius. Increasing Metagross' speed to match the physical power and intelligence make it a force to be reckoned with!"

Iris growled. "We won't be making that mistake again, don't worry, you won't be so lucky this time! Excadrill! Go!" Excadrill burst onto the arena and smashed it claws together, "Excadrill drill." The mole Pokémon stared straight at its opponent. "Right Excadrill lets take this big bully down! Use Earthquake!"

"Metagross Magnet Rise!" Metagross closed its eyes and began to levitate inches above the ground, it got out of the way just as Excadrill began to smash the ground with its claws, making the earth shake. "Now Metagross, use Take Down!"

Metagross dropped back to the ground and began to move towards Excadrill, picking up more and more speed as it approached its target. "Wait Excadrill, let it get closer first," Iris told her Pokémon, "closer... closer... NOW EXCADRILL, USE HEADBUTT!"

The drill headed Pokémon caught his opponent travelling at serious speed. Metagross was stopped in its tracks and Excadrill skidded along the ground, coming to a halt a few feet away breathing heavily. The metal giant didn't move for a second, until its front legs starting wobbling. It fell forward, down, but definitely not out.

"Metagross, come on buddy, you have to try to get up! I know you can do it!" Red's voice had obvious concern in it which surprised Iris. Before, she had assumed the way Red ordered his Pokémon about meant that he didn't care for Metagross, but now she thought differently.

"Excadrill, use Earthquake now before it gets up!" Iris knew this was a golden opportunity to land a solid blow, if Metagross got back up she wasn't sure Red would allow her to land another blow like the Headbutt.

Again, Excadrill began to smash its claws off the ground making it quake. Metagross didn't get up in time. The powerful move hit Metagross hard. The supercomputer Pokémon tried to get up again but instead it fell flat on the ground, its eyes swirling.

Red recalled his Pokémon, "Good job buddy, take a good rest." He selected another Pokeball from his belt, pressed the button on it and threw the ball into the air. "Go, Salamence!" A green and red dragon landed on the ground and let out an ear splitting roar.

"OOOHH WOOW A SALAMENCE! THEY'RE SO RARE! AND IT'S SHINY TOO C-Can I touch him? " The dragon lover in Iris took over as she rushed over to the dragon. Salamence gave Iris a questioning look but allowed her to touch him on the head "Wow it's so smooth, a real Salamence, I've never seen one before! It's the first shiny Pokémon I've seen as well, how did you find it?"

"I found him inside Meteor Falls in Hoenn; he was just a Bagon back then. He was attacked by the other Bagons because of his colour; they saw him as an outsider. I found him injured and when I healed him up he wanted to come with me. Now though, we have a battle to continue." Red answered her, and his last comment brought her out of her daydream as she scratched behind the spikes on Salamence's head.

"R-Right, let's continue our battle then!" She said, now with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. "Excadrill, Metal Claw!" Excadrill's claws began to glow as it charged at Salamence.

"Try to counter with Dragon Tail!" Red advised. The dragon tried to counter by swinging its muscular tail at Excadrill, but to no avail, Excadrill made contact with Metal Claw.

Salamence roared in pain. "Use Dig Excadrill and hide underground!" Iris commanded. She had a feeling she knew how Red was going to play this out. Excadrill burrowed into the ground, but didn't resurface.

**_'Hmm, what is she trying to do?' _**Red wondered what Excadrill could gain from trying to use Dig, Salamence could easily fly up and avoid it. "Salamence, fly up and avoid that Dig!"

**_'Now what?' _** His questioned was answered, unfortunately.

"Burst out of the ground and use Drill Run Excadrill!" Iris yelled, unsure that Excadrill would hear her. He did. The ground shook slightly as the brown and red Pokémon resurfaced, launching into the air and spinning towards Salamence's underside, his weak point.

Red knew Salamence wouldn't withstand an attack of that power and momentum to his weakest point, having already taking a big hit from Metal Claw. He knew what to do.

"Salamence! Try to catch Excadrill!" The Drill Run hit the dragon hard and he roared in pain. Excadrill began to fall back to the ground, but Salamence wasn't finished yet.

The winged beast dove after Excadrill, wrapping the Pokémon in its powerful tail. "Now Salamence, finish it off with Outrage!" Red shouted into the sky.

Salamence's eyes turned a deep shade of red as it tightened its grip on Excadrill. It swooped up to the top of the arena and again dove towards the ground, speeding up all the time. Closer. Closer. Salamence was enraged; there was no stopping it now. It roared savagely, justinches away from the ground.

* * *

**_BOOM. _**

Both Iris and Red shielded their faces as dust and rocks flew across the arena. When the dust settled, Cilan stepped up to the small crater that now featured in the centre of the battleground. Salamence and Excadrill both lay there, swirls in their eyes.

"Hey! That could have seriously hurt Excadrill!" Iris cried into Reds face.

"Relax Iris; Excadrill is a Ground and Steel type, and a strong one at that. Salamence took the brunt of that, but a Pokémon of his calibre can withstand more. Your Pokémon will be fine." Red answered as calmly as ever.

Cilan cleared his throat. "Both Salamence and Excadrill are unable to battle. Both Trainers are now down to their last Pokémon, so please, if you would both kindly bring out you last Pokémon for the final battle.

"GO, HAXORUS!" Iris screamed. The green and black Dragon type appeared on the field. Roaring into the sky, the axe faced Pokémon planted its feet on the floor. It was ready for any challenger.

"Pikachu. Go." Ash threw a yellow Pokeball into the air and it burst open with a yellow light, revealing the small figure of a Pikachu.

Iris gasped. Another Pikachu. "Oh a Pikachu, they're adora-"Iris was cut off by her own Pokémon.

"HAX! HAX-HAXORUS!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu ran up to the Haxorus opposite it and scurried up onto its head.

"What the-, Haxorus do-do you know Pika...chu..." Iris' voice trailed off.

Something had clicked.

Cilan was speechless; he just stood on the sidelines silently staring at Pikachu and Haxorus.

Nobody spoke for what seemed like hours. Until, finally, Iris spoke up.

"I-It can't be... I-is that you... Ash...?" She was trembling.

The figure standing opposite her said nothing. He was staring straight down.

"ANSWER ME!"

He didn't answer. Instead, he hand rose from his side and towards the cloak around his neck. He pulled the knot and the cloak, along with the hood, fell to the floor.

* * *

Tears began to stream down the purple haired teenagers face. She was looked straight at him, that hair, his bright... amber... eyes. They were filled with tears.

Pikachu, Haxorus, Cilan and Iris stared at him as he sank to his knees, as droplets of water began to fall from his eyes onto the ground below.

"I'm sorry Iris. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been a coward, running away like some spoilt kid. I shouldn't have left... you. Don't hate me for what I did, please, please forgive me." He looked up again, his crying blurring his vision slightly, and found Iris standing in front of him.

She lowered herself onto her knees in front of him and looked into his wet eyes. The tears only seemed to accentuate his beautiful, glowing eyes.

Ash opened his mouth to say something again but was stopped by Iris pressing her finger to his lips.

"Don't say anything Ash. I forgive you."

With that, she grabbed his shoulders and draping her arms around his neck, pulled him into a kiss. He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. Both Trainers stayed locked in the kiss for several minutes before breaking apart, both out of breath.

They stared into each other's eyes. "I've been waiting for over 5 years for that." Iris said playfully.

Ash chuckled, "Was it worth the wait?"

Iris snuggled into his chest and hugged him tighter.

"Definitely."

* * *

_AAAAAAAALRIGHTY THEN._

_How was that? I personally enjoyed writing this chapter the most out of all of them._

_There will be another chapter yes, although probably not just as lengthy as the rest of the chapters but I want it to act as a kind of epilogue and round off the story, tie up some loose ends etc etc._

_Are you guys excited for E3 coming up soon? I can't wait personally, I wanna see some Advanced Warfare footage, and maybe also a Fallout announcement. (Hey, I can dream leave me alone.)_

_As always to wrap things up, thanks for your continued support. __**Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter and more. If you have been following this story up to now and haven't left any feedback, please consider doing so, as it helps me to grow as a writer and also give you guys more of what you want to see in the future.**_

**_Thanks._**


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello again readers! Welcome to the last chapter of A Legend's Journey. This chapter will finish off the story and thankfully allowed me to write in my ending that I had planned since the start._

_Thanks again to those who continue to review and support me, and also, a big thanks to any new followers and reviewers since the last chapter was uploaded. You know who you are!_

_This chapter gave me the chance to write some more romantic scenes, more romantic that anything you've read in the story so but don't worry no M-Rated content. It was my first time trying to write deeper romance so please don't hesitate to tell me how I did!_

_Now, on with the show._

* * *

_Days after the events of Ash and Iris' battle._

* * *

"Well Ash, I have to say you were right. Kanto really is a beautiful region." Cilan admired the dense woodland and mountain ranges of Kanto as they walked through Viridian City. "It is a shame we couldn't visit Cinnabar Island on our way through though, I would have loved to see the Seafoam Islands."

The trio were walking towards Route 1, on their way to Pallet Town. While Cilan walked a little bit ahead, Ash and Iris hung back and walked at a slower pace. They had been holding hands since Mt. Moon; a request made by Iris so that she didn't get lost from the group.

"We can go there no problem Cilan; it's only ten minutes south of Pallet Town. I'll show you around Cerulean Cave too, providing they still allow visitors. I haven't been there in a long time." remarked Ash. It was nice to be back in his home region, he had always loved returning there after his adventures, the air seemed fresher and there were less people.

As he walked along, he felt Iris flex her fingers and retighten her grip.

"You know Iris, we got out of Mt. Moon an hour ago, you can let go of my hand now. I didn't think you were _that _much of a _scaredy cat_." Ash teased, looking down at their joint hands. When he looked up, she was staring right into his eyes. Ash had changed physically for sure; he was a little taller, and had broadened in the chest and shoulders, he had lost some weight and was more toned than the kid that disappeared 5 years ago, which Iris had put down to his lack of home comforts and cooking. His eyes though, they never lost that gleam.

"No thanks Ash, it's fine," the Unova girl pulled back and stopped, causing Ash to stop too. Standing up on her tip toes, she put her mouth right up to his ear and whispered, "but I guess all this hand holding and kissing make us an item now hmm? Besides..." she paused as she lowered her head and seductively nibbled his neck,

"I think you kinda like it."

The raven haired teen's heart was going a mile a minute, he turned his head to face her, "Iris..." he breathed as their lips edged closer, a matter of millimetres apart.

They were about to kiss again. Ash's heart felt like it was going to explode.

Iris pulled away. "Well! We better keep going; it's starting to get dark out!" She sank back to her normal height and continued walking humming cheerfully pulling a stunned Ash along behind her.

**_'Hmph. That'll teach him.' _**The purple haired girl had a smug smile on her face.

* * *

Pallet Town came into view just at the foot of the hill they were on.

"Wow Ash, it's beautiful!" Iris exclaimed.

"It certainly is Ash. A quiet, humble village, bursting with character and prestige; like a finely crafted stew!" Cilan inhaled the fresh air and sighed. It was hard for the Connoisseur, who was brought up in hustle and bustle of Unova, to believe; that such a small town produced a multi-region Champion and two top Pokémon researchers; Samuel and Gary Oak no less!

Ash felt strange. After all, he was standing looking down at a town where everyone thought he was missing and were getting on with their daily lives. **_'Can I really do it? Can I really just go back?'_**

He felt the grip on his hand tighten. Iris seemed to have read his mind. "Come on Ash, you've come this far. You can do this." She smiled up at him, as he breathed a sigh of relief.

They trio walked until they were standing outside one of the Pallet homes. The house itself wasn't very big, but the old stone blocks and slate roof it consisted of more than made up for that.

"It- it's amazing!" His friends said in unison.

"Yeah... home sweet home alright..." He released the hand of his partner and walked up the front steps. Taking a deep breath, he raised his left hand and knocked on the dark mahogany door.

Silence.

**_'No... no please be home. This needs to happen now' _**The raven haired teen was sweating, unsure whether to stand there or just turn and run.

He heard footsteps on the other side of the door, **_'Here we go'_**, he thought.

The handle on the door turned and swung open to reveal Delia Ketchum, wiping her hands on an apron. "Sorry, sorry, it's just I've been baking and well, I couldn't really le-" she had looked up at her visitor, and her voice faltered.

She didn't say anything, choosing to stare in silence at Ash.

* * *

"Hi Mom." was all the boy could muster.

Delia was mouthing her mouth, trying to speak. She couldn't find the words, and quickly found herself spiralling towards the floor.

"Mom! Cilan quick, help me get her up!" The connoisseur rushed forward and helped Ash get his mother to her feet. She couldn't support herself, but regained some composure and looked at her son. He smiled, "It's me Mom, it's Ash."

The brunette mother burst out of Cilan's support and bear hugged her son, crying hard into his chest.

"I just can't...I mean I-I thought you were dead and, and, and..." she couldn't find the words to explain how she felt. Instead, she chose to hug her son tighter and considered never letting him go again.

Ash rested his head on top of his mothers, "I love you too Mom, I'm sorry, I'll never leave you like that again." He returned her embrace, reassuring her that he was sorry and that he loved her, which only caused Delia to sob even harder.

* * *

_ Hours later._

Things had calmed down significantly in the Ketchum residence since the arrival of Ash, Iris and Cilan. So far, Delia had chosen not to call anyone just yet, preferring to spent some uninterrupted time with her son, before other friends, the media and anyone else got involved.

The green-haired food chef made everyone dinner, and for the rest of the evening Ash was constantly pestered by both his mother repeatedly hugging and kissing him on his forehead, and Iris wanting to snuggle on the sofa for the rest of eternity.

"Oh come on Ash, we're gonna have to tell her sooner or later. It's not as if Cilan hasn't already picked it up either, he's smarter than that." The Dragon Master huffed with him. Ash didn't really want to drop news that he and Iris were a couple on the same evening that he had turned up on his mother's doorstep after she presumed he was dead for 5 years.

"Come on Iris, it's not that I don't want to tell her. I just don't think now is the time to be honest." The couple were sharing a moment alone. Ash's Mom had gone off to bed exhausted by the day's events, while Cilan cleaned up in the kitchen.

The messy-haired Trainer had a sly grin on his face, "Anyway, who wouldn't want to announce they were with someone as beautiful as you? Even if she is a bit of a tease..." he told his girlfriend, who had snuggled up into his side.

Iris slapped him on the arm. "Hey! I am not a tease, that was just revenge for your little scaredy cat comment earlier! I'll make you a deal though, if you promise to tell your mom about us tomorrow, then maybe you _might_ get that kiss after all."

Ash looked at her and chuckled, "Well gee Iris I don't know really, that sure is a tough one." He pretended to think deeply about it, but was cut short by Iris jumping up from her snuggle position and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Pleeeeeeease Ash, _pretty _please? For me?" she looked right at him, doing her best puppy eyes and pout.

"I can't say no to that face now can I? Just one thing though-mmph!" Ash didn't get to finish his sentence as Iris closed the gap between their faces and locked lips with him in a passionate kiss. Ash returned the kiss, grabbing hold of her waist as she pushed her way past his lips with her tongue, exploring his mouth for the first time.

By now Ash was lying on the sofa and Iris was on top of him, a simple peck turning into a full blown makeout session. **_'Thank God my Mom went to bed early' _**Ash thought. It would certainly have been an uncomfortable situation for Delia of all people to catch him in.

They were interrupted by a soft knock on the living room door, and as they flew apart to opposite ends of the sofa Cilan entered the room.

Taking note of the deep hue of red on Iris' face Cilan picked his words carefully.

"Sorry if I'm uh, interrupting anything, but if it wasn't too much bother I was just wondering if I could watch the cooking channel." The older teen asked, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Of course you can Cilan, we weren't watching T-no! Yes! We were watching TV actually. Just not anymore." The Unova native corrected herself, realising her mistake and beginning to blush again. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed, it's late, the spare room is the first on the left up the stairs right Ash? Ash?"

Ash didn't respond. He was still in a state of shock. He merely waved his hand and nodded half-heartedly.

"Uh huh, well good night Iris! I hope you sleep well." Cilan called to her, closing the door after she left. He sat down and flicked on the TV, sighing contentedly when he finally found the cooking channel.

The Gym Leader turned to talk to Ash when the show went to commercials, but found that Ash had dozed off on the couch.

Shaking him, the green-haired teen tried wake his friend up, "Ash, come on Ash, if you're tired you should sleep properly in your bed otherwise you could hurt your neck sleeping here all night." Cilan was successful, and Ash slowly got up and headed upstairs, mumbling something that sounded like a thanks to his friend.

* * *

Ash wandered in the darkness to hid old room, he slowly opened the door and felt for the light switch.

He found it, but to no avail. He flicked the switch several times but no bulb lit up. He figured that after all the time he was gone the bulb no longer worked. Despite the room being in darkness, he was able to navigate his room well enough to find some pyjamas. The shirt no longer fitted his wider frame, but the trousers fit well enough, even if they were a little short.

The Pokémon Master climbed into his old bed once again, and pulled the covers back over himself. He lay there for a few minutes and began to shift to try and get into a more comfortable position, when he brushed against something soft and warm.

Ash froze up. **_'What the-' _** He turned over in his bed to discover another, small figure lying beside him.

"Iris!? What are you!? Why are you in my bed!? This isn't the spare room!" He was panicking, he had never had a girl in his bed before. What was she doing here? What if his Mom found out?

"Sssssh Ash! You're gonna wake your mother up!" Irish shushed him in a hushed whisper. "I didn't want to sleep alone in a new house. I was scared, in the spare room all by myself...I thought it would be alright if I slept in here with you... you wouldn't let me sleep all by myself would you? Scared? Alone?"

Ash sighed. Iris really was good at this persuasion thing. "Fine fine okay, you can sleep in here if you are frightened. You big scaredy cat."

"Oooh thank you, thank you, thank you Ash! I can sleep much better knowing you are here to protect me!" Iris squealed and cuddled him.

Ash wasn't used to this sort of intimacy. He let Iris cuddle him for a while, before deciding to wrap his arms around her and pulled her closer into his chest. Iris sighed and burrowed her head into his neck, her soft breathing tickling him as she rested her hands on his chest.

Ash was starting to drift off, when the sound of Iris speaking startled him.

"Ash?"

"Yeah Iris?"

She pushed her head up level with his on the pillow.

"Promise you'll never leave again?"

Ash caught a glimpse of her face in the moonlight from the window, she looked frightened.

He gave her a peck on the lips, which seemed to reassure her somewhat, as she hid her face in his neck again.

He rested his head on top of hers and sighed. When he thought about it, he was right where he wanted to be all this time; holding her, _Iris_, the first girl he had ever fallen in love with.

"I'll never leave you again Iris. I promise."

* * *

_Well, that's a wrap._

_Thanks so much for making my short time here at FF wonderful. The reception and support I got was unbelievable, much more than I thought I was going to get as a first-timer. Really, if you read the story, followed it, favourited it, did both or even did both for me, the author, then allow me to express my deepest gratitude._

_If you like my work and want to see more, then don't worry. I should be back soon with another fic, whether that be another NegaiShipping fic or something different remains to be seen. __**Hint: **__It'll probably be NegaiShipping ;)_

_**Double Hint: **__Reviews make the fanfiction cogs turn faster, so don't be shy, you essentially control my will to continue writing. So, you know, do the maths..._

_**-BlackMetagross**_


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